HaydenMullins

Midfielder

Advertisement

Biography

Date of birth

27/03/1979

Signed

16/03/2012

Country

England

Mullins began life as a trainee over at Crystal Palace in 1996, making his first team debut two years later in the 1998 Intertoto Cup match against Turkish side Samsunspor. Under manager Terry Venables, he scored his first senior goal in a 3-1 away defeat to Birmingham.

During the 1998/99 season he established himself within the first team, appearing 45 times across the league and cup in addition to winning Player of the Year award and attaining his first cap for the England U18s team.

In the 2000/01 season he helped palace to reach the semi-finals of the league cup, and with his 51 appearances he also managed to help stave away relegation.

After being named captain of the squad in 2002, he won Player of the Year again the time after. His phase spent at Palace saw him chalk up over 250 league and cup appearances, scoring 20 goals.

He moved to London to join West Ham in 2003 for a fee of £800,000, the first signing by former Reading manager Alan Pardew. He proved his worth during his time with the Hammers, reaching the Play-off finals twice – first in his debut season in the Division One final where they beat Mullins’ former club 1-0, and again the following season where West Ham achieved back to back promotions to secure their place in the Premier League.

After moving to Portsmouth where he enjoyed a successful three years, the time came where he was to join our Championship outfit on a loan deal, until the end of the 2011/12 season.

A mid-March loan signing, Brian McDermott brought the experienced Hayden Mullins into his midfield to help the Royals get over the line in the hunt for promotion to the Premier League, and hey presto, it worked.

Born in Reading, the then 32-year-old utility player had more than 500 appearances on his career CV when he arrived at Madejski Stadium from cash-strapped Portsmouth.

With his son already playing in the Reading Academy, the former Eagle and Hammer was drafted in to play in seven of our remaining ten games that season, making his Madejski Stadium bow in the 89th minute of a fiery 2-0 win over Leeds United.

His loan expired at the end of that title-winning campaign, where he then moved to Birmingham and then finally Notts County where he signed a one year’s contract until the end of the 2014/15 season.